A/N: Hi dear readers! I hope everyone is safe and healthy.

You are still here, following this not so happy story of mine and I thank you for that. And please drop a quick review.

Despite the situation in the world right now, I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Easter.

As we say it here in Québec during this scary pandemic, "Ça va bien aller!"

XXXXX

"Hey Sweetie! I can't wait to see you this weekend. It will be fun. You'll love the cottage, the location and the landscape. It's beautiful, just like you."

"Uhm…yeah, me too. I'm…uh…thrill to see your whole family again and…to actually get to know all of them this time." Bo was glad these words were said on the phone and not in person, that she didn't have to fake a smile at that moment. In fact, she was more stressed than anything else at the thought of spending the weekend with them, but it wasn't because of Jack Thornwood, or Dyson, or Rainer…

"Yeah you will. You'll have the entire weekend. Everybody will be there, well…everybody beside Lauren."

"Oh…Lauren won't be coming?" Bo straightened up in her chair, in the middle of the lab. She was surprised at first, but a feeling of relief quickly followed.

"No she won't, unfortunately. She called and texted us yesterday to confirm it, that she won't be able to make it. I'm disappointed too but…oh well, you'll see her again another time, better sooner than later and I will make sure of it."

"That's uh…that's really unfortunate, yes." Nothing she had said came out naturally. She had to focus on what Rainer say and had to think about the responses she gave. Bo was not in the mood for anything but felt she had to pretend to be.

"You'll love her and you two will get along with each other, I already know that. It's more than just a feeling."

To this, Bo didn't know what to say. She got lost in her thoughts for a brief moment until Rainer spoke again.

"Okay, so I'll come pick you up on Friday, right after work. Sounds good to you?"

"Sure."

"Alright, I'll see you then. Have a good day beautiful."

"Thanks, you too Rainer." Bo hung up and sighed loudly.

xxxxx

"Hey dad, here are the documents you wanted me to bring over." Dyson handed the leather document holder.

"Thanks Son." Jack took the folders and put them on his desk. "I won't say it enough, but I love working from the comfort of my own home. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to do this if I didn't have good partners and right hands at the office in charge of all the operations. Son, all this will be yours to run one day. You'll be the President and the CEO, I have no doubt you'll get there a lot sooner than you'd think."

"Oh, I'm not in a hurry. Besides, there's still so much to learn."

"Honey, you forgot your coffee downstairs." Evony appeared at the door. "Morning Dyson." She said to the younger Thornwood as she walked by. "Here, I warmed it up for you." She leaned over her husband's desk and put the cup down. She made sure her cleavage was in full display to Dyson.

No matter the occasion or the situation, his young step-mother continuously sought for attention. She loved it. She needed it. The more the merrier. Sometimes, like this time, her gesture was subtle but could not have been missed.

Dyson was an observer, so he didn't hide he was observing his step-mother but kept his opinion for himself and looked back at his father. "Also, I'm might arrive a little late for supper on Friday. I have a meeting with one of our investors and it might stretch out late into the afternoon."

"It'd be fine even if you don't make it for the first meal. I just expect you and your brother there this weekend. We will already have to make it without Lauren, I don't want any of my other children to be absent from this get together."

"No worries Dad. Rainer said he should be there in the early evening with his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend…that's right. What's her name again?" Jack asked without much interest and took a sip of his coffee.

"Bo."

The older man simply raised an eyebrow as he slowly swallowed his morning drink.

"Speaking of Lauren and…this Bo, they seemed to have a special relationship." Evony couldn't resist putting this observation out there.

"What do you mean?" Dyson took a sudden interest in what Evony said. "Well, Rainer did mention to me that Lauren happens to be Bo's doctor…at some point."

"Oh, I can tell you that their bathroom interaction was a little more than a doctor-patient conversation, or a talk between a sister and her brother's new girlfriend."

"And…what kind of conversation was it then?" Dyson asked with greater curiosity.

"The one that made me believe they were…or used to be…intimate." A sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips. She went around the desk and sat on the curved leather sofa. She took a business magazine from a pile sitting on the coffee table and flipped the pages as she continued on her thoughts, "I heard them talking and being intense at each other. Of course, they didn't know I was there." She let the statement make its way to the now suspicious minds of the two men. Waving her hand as to chase away the idea, she added, with obvious sarcasm in her voice, "But hey, that is just my impression. Maybe it was just an intense…intimate doctor and patient conversation."

"Okay, that is strange. If they've known each other in the past in any other circumstances than medically, I can assure you Rainer does not know about that. Besides, he also did mention that there are things about Bo he didn't know and only learned about it at the fundraising night."

"Oh…and…what would those things be?"

"Well, one that I remember was…that her last name wasn't even McCorrigan – "

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, her real name sounds a lot less Gaelic and a lot more…French. It's something along the line of…Denis, I think."

"Denis?..Not a very common surname here, but why would she lie about her family name?"

"I think it's for the same reason than Lauren, she prefers her mother surname over her father's, or something like that."

"Or…there is more than meets the eye…" Evony couldn't resist going one further.

"Well, McCorrigan or Denis, I'm sure she's a special woman if Rainer is dating her and wants to bring her to our family event. Let's hope we'll learn more about this young lady and get to know her better over the weekend." Jack stood up as to give a signal, "Now, I'm afraid that I'll have to dismiss myself from this fun talk. As you can see, there's a pile of documents waiting for me to go through." He turned to his son, "But Dyson, before you leave, I wanted to tell you that you did a great job looking after the company with Lachlan in my absence. I know I have nothing to worry about when you're in charge."

"You can always count on me Dad. I won't let anything happen to Morpheus, you know that. You worked so hard to build it and invested so much of yourself for the company to get the image and reputation it has now."

"You make me happy Son." Jack turned to his wife and smiled, "Honey, I'll be down there for lunch. Don't worry, I won't make you wait."

After Dyson and Evony left his office, Jack picked up the phone and dialed his brother's number. "Lachlan, how is it going? …Oh well…you remember the…incident with the finance VP? ...Yes, him. Would you have your…contacts look up someone's family background for me?"

xxxxx

"A whole weekend huh?"

"Yup!" The documentary program on TV wasn't interesting enough to pull Bo out of her thoughts.

"Well…Great! Isn't that what you were hoping for? …an opportunity to get even closer to Mr. Morpheus himself, to the truth?"

"Yeah, it was. It is…but now every time I think of them, of Rainer or of his father, I can't help but think about Lauren too, though…not in the same way I used to."

"You know, maybe it's not too late to fix things with Lauren. Maybe she'll understand?"

"Oh no! There is no fixing anymore. I can't see how all this can be fixed with Lauren. I…I gave up on it the moment I realized she was Rainer's sister…and Jack Thornwood's daughter. I royally fucked it up with her! There is nothing left to be saved between us, nothing!" Bo took a sip of her wine, her eyes not leaving the television. "It would be foolish to hope that she would want to listen to me, never mind to believe me." She turned to Kenzi, "How do you think that would play out? Hey Lauren! I got something to tell you, I got a good reason to lie to you and to cheat on you with your brother. I have nothing to support it…like ZE-RO proof, but I think your father had my parents killed twenty years ago and I am now investigating on your family to find that said proof."

Kenzi winced, "That doesn't sound too improbable."

"It sounds exactly like a bad revelation scene in a bad thriller movie!"

"You're right..." Kenzi sighed.

"And if I ever go that way, she would either laugh at me or hate me even more for ruining her family's relationship with one another. Or…she'll do both. And either way, my cover will be ruined for sure." Bo turned back to the TV, "The only good thing about this weekend is that she won't be there, so I can put all my focus on Jack and everyone else who can give me some information, some clue."

Bo didn't think she would one day feel this way towards Lauren, but as of right now, she was glad she wouldn't get to see the doctor for a while. She looked at her wine glass and, in one swallow, emptied it of the red liquid.

xxxxx

Lauren opened the last bottle and filled her wine glass to the top. Still standing at the little kitchen island, she took a long sip from the wine. In the past week and a half, almost every day after her shifts, she had swapped the need to bury herself in medical books for the satisfaction a glass of red wine procured her.

As days went by, she had noticed small changes in her habits, in her way of thinking, in her deepest desires. She had come to realize she had changed a lot in two, almost three months. Meeting that particular woman and letting her in, had deeply impacted her life, in such ways Lauren would never want to admit.

It had completely transformed her, for better or for worst.

Bitter. That was how her wine tasted, and it perfectly mirrored the multilayered emotion Lauren was having lately. Even the bold red color of the liquid well described her feelings.

She reached out for her phone, then, she hesitated for a moment, wondering if she was really going to take that route. She finally made up her mind and typed a few words. With the same sharpness than the wine, she hit the Send button.

At that moment Lauren knew she was about to do, for the second time, a very bad thing. The worst thing she could do to herself. Something she will probably regret, but she had to. She wanted that satisfaction.

Lauren had a strong sense of self, and now that self of hers had just terribly drifted and taken a one eighty turn.

Feeling tremendously resentful, she finished the wine and unconsciously put the glass back down on the marble counter so hard the stem broke. The broken end pierced into the skin of her palm and, with certain contemplation, she watched the bold red color of the liquid dripping from her hand blending with the same bold red color of small drops of wine on the counter.